A book leads to other thought paths
So last night I finished reading The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco. I hear it was made into a movie. Anyway, this book takes place in the mid 14th Century in a monestary in Northern Italy. I've read the book at least 2 times before but last night a few of the main side stories in the book really made me happy that I live during the current era but mostly they made me think.
It breaks down like this.
Big side story 1: Many monks argue about (and even kill over) whether or not Jesus laughed. I'm serious. And these arguments made me wonder why it was such a big deal during the early (i.e., post-Jesus/AD) centuries. Of course Jesus laughed. Regardless of what you believe about Jesus, we all know that he was human and one of the things that makes us humans different from all the other animals on the planet (besides our consciousness) is our ability to laugh and find humor in any and every situation.
Being able to laugh means that we are able to feel joy and find folly in our actions. Conversely, it means we are able to feel pain and empathy (which may be a more important emotion, in my humble opinion).
Big side story 2: Different monks argue over whether or not Jesus and his Apostles owned property. It all boiled down to the different Catholic factions (Franciscans, Dominicans, etc.) holding vast treasures while other factions vowed to live a life of poverty never owning a thing.
Whether or not J. and his A. owned property is not the point I was thinking about. The arguments led me to contemplate the extreme differences in today's society between the rich (or as Jess might say, uber-rich) and poor. Even within my own country. I see homeless people everyday. Many of the veterans or Native Americans. It grieves me to know that a country which claims to be great and wonderful (don't get me wrong DHS, I like it here) is unable or unwilling to step up and take care of it's population. I know my part in this folly well. I often turn my head and fail to offer up money or food to those standing on the side of the road asking for help and believe you me, I am disgusted with myself for doing so.
However, we have to find and fight the underlying cause of poverty and homelessness. Sometimes just handing out alms only enables the reciever to continue living such a life. But sometimes, those people are in need of help in forms I am unable to give, such as help with mental problems. Yet these are the social programs that are the first to be cut when the government, because of tax cuts during "war" time among other reasons, tries to decrease it's budget. As a nation, how do we continue to stand for these kinds of actions? When will the 'under-priveledged' rise up? When will the educated stand up for those less fortunate and riot against governmental policies that degrade our American civilization, as a whole? I don't know and maybe it's time for me to begin to do something about it. Unfortunately, I'll probably continue to turn my head and look the other way until someone with more cajones than myself steps up. Only then will I act. What a sad, complacent person I am.
It breaks down like this.
Big side story 1: Many monks argue about (and even kill over) whether or not Jesus laughed. I'm serious. And these arguments made me wonder why it was such a big deal during the early (i.e., post-Jesus/AD) centuries. Of course Jesus laughed. Regardless of what you believe about Jesus, we all know that he was human and one of the things that makes us humans different from all the other animals on the planet (besides our consciousness) is our ability to laugh and find humor in any and every situation.
Being able to laugh means that we are able to feel joy and find folly in our actions. Conversely, it means we are able to feel pain and empathy (which may be a more important emotion, in my humble opinion).
Big side story 2: Different monks argue over whether or not Jesus and his Apostles owned property. It all boiled down to the different Catholic factions (Franciscans, Dominicans, etc.) holding vast treasures while other factions vowed to live a life of poverty never owning a thing.
Whether or not J. and his A. owned property is not the point I was thinking about. The arguments led me to contemplate the extreme differences in today's society between the rich (or as Jess might say, uber-rich) and poor. Even within my own country. I see homeless people everyday. Many of the veterans or Native Americans. It grieves me to know that a country which claims to be great and wonderful (don't get me wrong DHS, I like it here) is unable or unwilling to step up and take care of it's population. I know my part in this folly well. I often turn my head and fail to offer up money or food to those standing on the side of the road asking for help and believe you me, I am disgusted with myself for doing so.
However, we have to find and fight the underlying cause of poverty and homelessness. Sometimes just handing out alms only enables the reciever to continue living such a life. But sometimes, those people are in need of help in forms I am unable to give, such as help with mental problems. Yet these are the social programs that are the first to be cut when the government, because of tax cuts during "war" time among other reasons, tries to decrease it's budget. As a nation, how do we continue to stand for these kinds of actions? When will the 'under-priveledged' rise up? When will the educated stand up for those less fortunate and riot against governmental policies that degrade our American civilization, as a whole? I don't know and maybe it's time for me to begin to do something about it. Unfortunately, I'll probably continue to turn my head and look the other way until someone with more cajones than myself steps up. Only then will I act. What a sad, complacent person I am.
eloquently composed by Al at 5:08 PM
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